Washington DC registration and tax info

• Washington D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue- income tax withholding 
• Washington D.C. Department of Employment Services- unemployment tax

Register with the D.C Office of Tax and Revenue

The online registration process can take up to 10 business days before you receive your account number and tax deposit schedule. Keep this time frame in mind when planning your first Washington D.C. payroll. 

1. Start your registration online with the DC Office of Tax and Revenue.
2. Scroll to the "Businesses" tile and click Register a New Business - Form FR-500—or, click here. 
   
   • Before completing the FR-500, please visit the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs website to complete any licensing requirements.
   • Make sure you have all of the information necessary to complete the registration—the agency itemizes this on this page.
3. When you're ready to begin registration, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Next.
4. Complete all remaining prompts. 

After registering, if you're unsure of your account number or tax deposit schedule:

• Call the agency at (202) 759-1946 or; 
• Send an email to the Office of Tax and Revenue's e-Services Unit (OTR) at [email protected].

Enter the tax account information in Gusto

Once a valid Washington D.C. work address has been added in Gusto for one or more employee(s), you can add your tax account information:

1. Click the Taxes & compliance section and select Tax setup.
2. Scroll to the "Washington D.C. Setup" headline and select Manage taxes.
3. Click edit next to the applicable field to enter your withholding account number.
   • If you need to update your account number for any reason: contact us from the Help or Priority support section of your account—there may be tax implications if taxes have already been paid or filed to an incorrect account number.
4. Enter your current assigned tax deposit schedule in Gusto.
5. Click Save.

If you have any questions about your current account number or schedule, you should call the agency at (202) 759-1946.

Your company usually becomes liable for unemployment insurance tax once the company has:

• Paid any wages to DC employees or;
• Had at least one DC employee working for any part of a day.

Running payroll in Gusto before you're liable for state unemployment insurance (SUI)

If you need to run payroll and do not yet meet the above requirements, Gusto allows it—we suggest you add the "New employer SUI tax rate" specific to Washington DC in the meantime. You'll need to update the rate once you have your company-specific assigned rate. 

You'll want to register with the D.C. Department of Employment Services as soon as you become liable—eventually, Gusto will need:

• Your unemployment tax account number—required to file and pay taxes on your behalf.
• Your company-specific unemployment tax rate—assigned by the agency.

Register with the D.C. Department of Employment Services (DOES)

Once you've registered online, you should receive your unemployment account number and tax rate instantly.

1. Begin your registration on the DC DOES employer registration portal.
   • Important: Make sure your screen resolution is between 70-85% or you won't see the full screen and be able to proceed.
2. Review the "What is needed to register" information.
3. Scroll down, and click Next.
4. Complete all remaining prompts.

After registration, if you're unsure of your unemployment account number or rate, call the agency at (202) 724-7000.

Gusto will also use your DC DOES account number when paying and reporting your paid family leave tax—learn more in the Paid family leave dropdown below. 

Enter the tax account information in Gusto

Once a valid Washington D.C. work address has been added in Gusto for one or more employee(s), you can add your tax account information:

1. Click the Taxes & compliance section and select Tax setup.
2. Scroll to the "Washington D.C. Tax Setup" headline and select Manage taxes.
3. Click edit to enter your unemployment account number and tax rate—do not include the Administrative Assessment, it’s a fixed rate, so we’ll include it automatically.
   
   • If you need to update your rate: follow the steps in this article. 
     • Your DC UI Tax Rate appears on the Rate Notice that you receive annually from the DC Department of Employment Services. For new employers, you can check out this article to view the new employer rate ranges and wage bases in your state (not company-specific).
   • If you need to update your account number: contact us from the Help or Priority support section of your account—there may be tax implications if taxes have already been paid or filed to an incorrect account number.

If you’re unsure of your account number or rate, call the agency at (202) 724-7000. 

Washington DC's Paid Family Leave benefits, and related tax, applies to all private sector employers in DC (with very few exceptions).

That tax is funded by a 0.26% quarterly employer-only tax based on employees' wages—benefits are offered to workers who qualify. 

• The rate of 0.26% began July 1, 2022—the previous rate was 0.62%.

Gusto supports Washington DC's paid family leave (PFL) tax in that we'll:

• Collect the employer contribution of 0.26% of DC employee's wages and;
  • Reminder: The rate of 0.26% began July 1, 2022—the previous rate was 0.62%.
• Report and pay PFL taxes for all Washington DC employers.

There is no new account number for this program, the agency will use an employer's existing DC DOES account number (unemployment account number).

If any new information is needed, we'll reach out to you to collect it. Click here for more information about PFL.

In order for Gusto to help troubleshoot tax issues, we'll need you to authorize Gusto as your Power of Attorney (POA). Gusto will become your POA—also known as a third party agent (TPA)—for the agency below:

• DC Department of Employment Services – unemployment tax

DC Department of Employment Services (DC DOES)—unemployment tax

To become your POA for this agency, a notarized form authorizing Gusto as your payroll provider must be submitted to the agency—to make this easy, we’ll prepare the necessary document for you to e-sign in Gusto. Then, we’ll submit the form directly to the agency.

Add Gusto as your Power of Attorney

This form will only populate once you’ve assigned a DC work address to your first DC employee.

1. Have the company signatory sign in to their profile in Gusto.
2. Click the applicable DC to do item from your Home page.
3. E-sign the auto-generated Form OUCTAX-1 in Gusto.
   • To view the form outside of Gusto, click here. 

We’ll submit this to the agency directly on your behalf—you’re all set for now.

Troubleshoot DC Department of Employment Services authorization issue

You may need to verify the following information you have entered into Gusto matches the information found in your DC DOES webportal: 

• Official company name/address
• FEIN - Federal Employment Identification Number
• Unemployment Account Number 

If Gusto is still having trouble gaining access to your account, call the agency at (202) 724-7000 to determine what's blocking Gusto's authorization.

Withholding tax account number and tax deposit schedule

If you've run payroll in Washington DC in the past, you can find your account number and tax deposit schedule by:

• Reviewing notices received from the DC Office of Tax and Revenue or;
• Calling the agency at (202) 759-1946.

Click the Enter the tax account information in Gusto dropdown to learn where to put this information in Gusto. 

Unemployment account number

You can find your unemployment account number on the "Contribution Rate Note or Quarterly Contribution & Wage Report (Form DOES-UC30)" received from the Department of Employment Services.

Unemployment tax rate

Your DC UI Tax Rate can be found by:

• Reviewing the Rate Notice that you receive annually from the DC Department of Employment Services or;
• Calling the agency at (202) 698-7550. 

Important: Do not include the Administrative Assessment, it’s a fixed rate, so we’ll include it automatically.

If you're unsure of your account number or rate, call the agency at (202) 698-7550. 

While not company-specific, you can head to a different article to view state-by-state new employer UI rates and wage bases.

Click the Enter the tax account information in Gusto dropdown to learn where to put this information in Gusto. 

Washington DC's Paid Family Leave benefits, and related tax, applies to all private sector employers in DC (with very few exceptions).

That tax is funded by a 0.26% quarterly employer-only tax based on employees' wages—benefits are offered to workers who qualify.

• The rate of 0.26% began July 1, 2022—the previous rate was 0.62%.

Gusto supports Washington DC's paid family leave (PFL) tax in that we'll:

• Collect the employer contribution of 0.26% of DC employee's wages and;
  • Reminder: The rate of 0.26% began July 1, 2022—the previous rate was 0.62%.
• Report and pay PFL taxes for all Washington DC employers.

There is no new account number for this program, the agency will use an employer's existing DC DOES account number (unemployment account number).

If any new information is needed, we'll reach out to you to collect it. Click here for more information about PFL.

In order for Gusto to help troubleshoot tax issues, we'll need you to authorize Gusto as your Power of Attorney (POA). Gusto will become your POA—also known as a third party agent (TPA)—for the agency below:

• DC Department of Employment Services – unemployment tax

DC Department of Employment Services (DC DOES)—unemployment tax

To become your POA for this agency, a notarized form authorizing Gusto as your payroll provider must be submitted to the agency—to make this easy, we’ll prepare the necessary document for you to e-sign in Gusto. Then, we’ll submit the form directly to the agency.

Add Gusto as your Power of Attorney

This form will only populate once you’ve assigned a DC work address to your first DC employee.

1. Have the company signatory sign in to their profile in Gusto.
2. Click the applicable DC to do item from your Home page.
3. E-sign the auto-generated Form OUCTAX-1 in Gusto.
   • To view the form outside of Gusto, click here. 

We’ll submit this to the agency directly on your behalf—you’re all set for now.

Troubleshoot DC Department of Employment Services authorization issue

You may need to verify the following information you have entered into Gusto matches the information found in your DC DOES webportal: 

• Official company name/address
• FEIN - Federal Employment Identification Number
• Unemployment Account Number 

If Gusto is still having trouble gaining access to your account, call the agency at (202) 724-7000 to determine what's blocking Gusto's authorization.

Once a valid Washington D.C. address has been added in Gusto for one or more employee(s), you can add your tax account information:

1. Click the Taxes & compliance section and select Tax setup.
2. Scroll to the "Washington D.C. Tax Setup" headline and select Manage taxes.
3. Click edit next to the applicable field to enter your withholding account number.
   • If you need to update your account number for any reason: contact us from the Help or Priority support section of your account—there may be tax implications if taxes have already been paid or filed to an incorrect account number.
4. Enter your current assigned tax deposit schedule in Gusto.
5. Click edit to enter your unemployment account number and tax rate—do not include the Administrative Assessment, it’s a fixed rate, so we’ll include it automatically.
   
   • If you need to update your rate: follow the steps in this article. 
     • For new employers, you can check out this article to view the new employer rate ranges and wage bases in your state (not company-specific).
   • If you need to update your account number: contact us from the Help or Priority support section of your account—there may be tax implications if taxes have already been paid or filed to an incorrect account number.
6. Click Save.